towing a bike? probably not a good idea.

[TomC]

Well had a bad experience with towing my bike today, i broke down and my dad suggested as it wasnt far away from home that we towed it. Anyway started ok goin along fine, wind was blowing me all over the place and was struggling to keep my balance and steer as the rope was attached to the front forks, got to a large bump in the road, my dad broke suddenly, before i knew it the rope was caught in the front tire and i was over the handle bars sliding down the road. Luckily i was ok, but the bike is now even more wrecked than before, broken mirrors, number plate, light, indicators, brake lever, and some nice damage down the side of the body work and forks. Oh and some nice scruff marks on my week old jacket, all in all not the best of days, and its going to cost me even more to get the bike up and running again. Not to sure why it is im telling you this, anyone else had something similar happen to them, or am i the only one stupid enough?

[haGGard]

Why, oh why did you think towing a bike was a good idea?

[TomC]

lol sort of reaction i was expecting couldnt get the trailer for a couple of days and didnt want to leave bike on the side of a bendy country road.

[MarJay]

all I can say is and your dad ought to know better!

Was he towing you with a bike or car?
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[haGGard]

When my dads yamaha broke down, he hired a van for a day and put it in that

[M1ke]

Bike towing bike isn't so bad but car towing bike never works out

[TomC]

being towed by car

[stinkwheel]

I wholeheartedly agree that towing a bike is a silly idea but sometimes you just have to.

I mentioned this earlier but if I was going to get towed by a car in future, I would sit next to the car and hold on to the roofrack or the door post rahter than relying on a rope. I was nearly off mine the other day as the rope pulled the front end sideways accross a junction. A combination of not having tied the rope on (allowing me to let go) and the stupidly long travel of the forks on my bike is what saved me.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[TomC]

well it was difficult to keep the balance at low speeds, so we speeded it up abit, but once the rope when slack the wheel was locked almost instantly.

[G]

BIke to bike, the rear bike should do all the braking and the front bike the accelerating (as you might expect).

Attaching the tow rope to the forks can be a bad idea as sharp turns can turn the bars and cause all sorts of weirdness.

[kasandrich]

Bad Luck TOMC, you will earn from the experience, its just a shame its so costy

Shame you didn't read the recent posts on this subject
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Richard

CBR1000FM

[ash t]

Gutted. What bike was it?

Whos the more foolish. You or Your Dad??
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When You're Starting To Choke, Take Some Pills With Your Coke, Its Hyserical

[Mr C]

when towing a bike from a car you should always firmly loop the rope around your neck
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187.3bhp = 201mph

[Kickstart]

Hi

Towed a bike with a bike once. Not too bad, but not nice. Make sure that you do not tie the rope the the bike being towed, but loop it round so that it stays attached while you hold it but when released it just comes undone.

Also been towed on a bike by a car. Not a nice experience, but it got the bike home the mile or 2.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[strag]

Tell me you lot are having a laugh!! Towing a bike is a seriously bad idea, holding on to a car????? Let me know after the next time you do that and lose a leg. Get some independant breakdown cover if you don't have it on your insurance.

*sigh*
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carbon bling

[AcIdBuRnZ]

What a numpty
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Past: Honda NSR125R >> Kawasaki ER-5a2 >> Kawasaki ZZR-600e1 >> Suzuki GSXR-750Y >> Honda VTR 1000 Firestorm
"Chickity China the Chinese Chicken..."

[ZRX61]

Many years ago I towed a gf's Mk1 Escort 4 miles across South London with a Kawa triple.....

[sv_cath]

As far as I know, it's illegal for a car to tow a bike. A car can tow a car and a bike can tow a bike but you shouldn't mix them.

And now we know why!

[Marc_Buck]

You attatched the rope to your forks, no-wonder you couln't steer.
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94 fzr600r

[TomC]

lol yes i am aware of that
Having said that there was very little else to attach it to, it wouldnt go around the frame. A learning curve i do beleive, dont think it will be done again in a hurry, but hopfully i wont break down again for a while

[Dom_]

1st mistake was towing the bike
2nd mistake was using a car
3rd and biggest mistake was attatching it to the forks, how did you think you could steer?

Sorry mate, not having a dig. But sometimes things amaze me.

[Bendy]

What about towing a car with a bike?

[sv_cath]

[TomC]

lol nar i know you are right, i knew i wouldnt be able to steer, but we werent going far and were going slowly and was only on empty country roads so didnt think it would be much of a problem, oh and it was dark and very windy

[Bendy]

It's just something I'll ponder when the trailer's loaded up with 200+ bhp doing nothing and I wonder why we're using the least powerful engine to pull the biggest amount of weight.

Please note, this is not a serious question.